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The Hilton College and Michaelhouse stayers’ teams did battle in a T20 on Thursday on the Roy Gathorne Oval in Balgowan and, when the dust had settled on a riveting contest, only three runs separated the sides, with ‘House clinching the win.

They elected to bat first after winning the toss and that worked out well for the home side as Ethan Muir and Graydon Leslie put on 59 for the first wicket in 7.4 overs. Leslie, then, departed, stumped by Alex Pitman off the bowling of Luke Campbell for 26 from 19 deliveries, five of which he dispatched for four.

Nicholas Baker and Ethan Muir teamed up for a 61-run partnership from 46 balls, advancing the total to 120 before Baker fell for 25 from 21.

Hayden Hewlett didn’t stay long, and when Muir was caught by Jayden Roux off the bowling of Jacques Olivier for 65 from 58, with eight fours and a six, ‘House had lost three wickets for 17 runs in two-and-a-half overs. That left them on 127/3 after 16.2 overs.

A rapid unbeaten 18 from James Mallett, off only eight balls, with two fours and a six, helped boost Michaelhouse to 166/5 after their 20 overs.

Simon Steyn was the most successful of the Hilton bowlers, picking up 2/18 in two, while Luke Campbell delivered a neat spell, returning 1/18 from four overs.

Needing to bat at 8.3 runs per over to win, Hilton made a strong start to their run chase, with Alex Pitman and Robert Burman sharing a hasty opening stand of 44 in four overs before Burman fell LBW to Jean-Luc Rey for 12 from nine balls.

Pitman joined him back in the pavilion a run later, caught by Radhesh Jhilmeet off the bowling of Harry Vickery for a quickfire 30 from 16 deliveries, which included three fours and a six.

Simon Steyn was dismissed with the total on 55, which left the visitors three down after 5.4 overs. In the 10th over that became 75/4 when Jayden Roux exited, caught by Hayden Hewlett of the bowling of Ethan Muir for 18.

Hilton needed to build some momentum and Ben Erasmus and Stewart Falconer joined forces to deliver it. In 9.2 overs, they boosted their side’s total by 73 runs, but they were running short of balls. When Erasmus fell, caught by Vickery off Thandanani Zuma for 49 from 41 deliveries, with four fours and a six, only 13 balls remained in the Hilton innings and they still needed 18 runs to win.

There was nothing in it. The match was balanced on a knife’s edge.

Michaelhouse struck a blow with the very next ball when the new man in, Obakeng Motsepa, was run out by a combination of Hayden Hewlett and Henry Love, without scoring.

Falconer was still out in the middle, however, and he farmed the strike to push Hilton closer to the finishing line. It came down to the last ball.

Luke Campbell, at the other end, in a desperate bid for the winning runs, was run out, with Hilton three runs short of victory, on 163/7.

Falconer was unbeaten on 45 after a 30-ball stay. He’d smashed three sixes and a four, but his valiant knock didn’t quite get the visiting side over the line.

Those two late run outs proved to be crucial in House’s win, as were extras, with the hosts conceding only six to the 13 of Hilton.

Jean-Luc Rey claimed 2/24 in four overs, while Ethan Muir lent good support with a return of 1/25 from his four.

Summarised scorecard

Michaelhouse Invitation 166/5 (Ethan Muir 68, Graydon Leslie 26, Nicholas Baker 25, Simon Steyn 2/18); Hilton College Stayers 163/7 (Ben Erasmus 49, Stewart Falconer 45*, Alex Pitman 30, Jean-Luc Rey 2/24)

Michaelhouse won by three runs.

Another young graduate from the School of Excellence, Siyabonga Mabena, is garnering attention after being recognised as one of the world’s leading young footballers by The Guardian newspaper on 15 October.

Mabena was included in the article, titled “Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football“.

The selection featured notable talents, including Estêvão Willian, the 17-year-old Brazilian football prodigy, who was signed by Chelsea Football Club in June 2024 from Palmeiras. Estêvão is expected to join the Blues’ first team at Stamford Bridge for the 2025/26 season when he turns 18.

South African football enthusiasts expressed their congratulations on social media to Mabena, who made his senior debut for Sundowns, under coach Rhulani Mokwena, in March 2023, during a 5-1 win over Royal AM in a Premier Soccer League match. Mabena has made 18 appearances for the Brazilians since then.

He was a member of the South African national team (Amajita) that won the u20 Cosafa Championship in Mozambique earlier this month under coach Raymond Mdaka. When they reached the final, Amajita also qualified for next year’s u20 Caf Africa Cup of Nations.

Mabena, who was initially exposed to the broader landscape of South African football through the Gauteng Development League (GDL), while representing the School of Excellence, has won two league titles with Mamelodi Sundowns and was also part of the Brazilians’ side that won the African Football League in 2023.

Being named in The Guardian‘s prestigious Next Generation list, which showcases talents born in 2007, is another big feather in Mabena’s cap. The list also includes Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, who has progressed through the ranks of the renowned La Masia Academy, which is renowned for producing World Cup champions, including Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, and many others.

The recognition among some of the world’s top talents is a big boost for Mabena whose ambitions will be further boosted by featuring for Sundowns, the dominant team in South African club football, which has won the Betway Premiership title for the past seven seasons.

Inathi Masinga, a student from Maritzburg College, has received a full basketball scholarship from Southeastern Preparatory Academy in Orlando, Florida.

Masinga has distinguished himself on the court over the past two years, with his profile rising in the youth-level basketball ranks.

He was a key contributor to the College basketball team that remained unbeaten from 16 September 2023 until March 2024, during the KZN inter-school season.

Maritzburg College coach Suwi Siwila told SuperSport Schools Plus earlier this year that team building was emphasised to foster a robust team culture.

That focus on unity was evident on the court where the Red, Black, and White exhibited an ability to perform cohesively, with Masinga playing an important role in the team’s success.

Masinga and College started 2024 on a high note by winning the Jenny Orchard Invitational Basketball Tournament in February, defeating an outstanding Northwood School team in the final. The Knights, who won the St John’s Basketball Tournament later in the year, were a very tough opponent, but College prevailed in overtime, winning 87-84. Masinga was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

In September, he represented South Africa’s u18 boys’ basketball team at the u18 FIBA Afrobasket Tournament in Pretoria. The tournament featured some of the top nations in Africa competing for a chance to represent the continent at the FIBA u19 Basketball World Cup in 2025, set to take place in Czechia.

Although the South African team did not win the tournament, the experience and exposure gained, along with the valuable lessons learned, will undoubtedly benefit Masinga’s basketball career.

He concludes his tenure at Maritzburg College with an impressive record of playing in 40 games for the first team and securing victory in 33 of them.

Coach Siwila said Masinga was also the MVP of the Maritzburg College basketball team, thereby etching his name into College’s basketball history books.

Siwila also declared himself immensely proud of Masinga’s contributions to the Maritzburg College basketball programme and wished him well for his move abroad.

“The Last Run” of the 2024 edition of Africa’s best development league, the Gauteng Development League beckons.

The province’s most talented footballers, across three divisions, have laced up their boots and taken to the field for 30 weeks straight in pursuit of an elusive Gauteng Development League trophy.

With only four rounds of fixtures remaining, the defending champions of the u19 division, Highlands Park, sit atop the standings with Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United, and TS Galaxy completing the top five.

“The Lions of the North” have 77 points, while ‘Downs lie second, with 72 points, ahead of third-placed Chiefs on goal difference. There’s a considerable gap to SuperSport United, in fourth, with 57 points, while TS Galaxy has 50 points.

Sifiso Mnguni, the head coach of the Balfour Park-based Highlands Park, reckons experience plays a very small role at this late stage of the season.

The East Rand-born Mnguni emphasised that the team which embraces the pressure of the next four games will most likely emerge victorious.

“The pressure is there. It can break you or make a diamond out of you,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “This is part of the journey and part of life that we are supposed to face. We are supposed to face such difficult moments so that we can grow.

“We’ve got to face situations like these because, irrespective of what could happen, they make us better human beings and make us better footballers. If you can’t handle it, then you have to find another job because here there is always pressure.

“We’ve got to face situations like these because irrespective of what could happen, they make us better human beings and make us better footballers. Experience will work but it’s not enough. We still have to put in a lot of work in these last four games.”

Mnguni has had to watch many of his top players graduate to professional football and, because of that, Highlands Park had a difficult start to the season. He had to rebuild the 2023 title winners while working on the club’s defence of the prestigious title.

Fortunately for the coach, his team has gelled well and now looks almost unbeatable heading into the last two weeks of the league.

After a difficult start to the season, Mnguni said the key to his charges’ success has been their adaptability. Also, he added, the Highlands Park player recruitment team has done an incredible job.

“When the season starts, you have to rebuild. We encountered a lot of different things and we had a lot of new players which made things difficult. It’s a challenge. It hasn’t been easy for us this season,” Mnguni admitted.

“You’ve got to remember that some boys at the u19 level are doing matric and will go to varsity. We always lose players. The difficult part is to rebuild. Also, I think our recruitment has been good because we tried to recruit a few boys from Prestige and Siluma just to get the team balance right.

“But, most importantly, we have been able to adapt and be flexible. At certain times, we don’t have the players that we wish we could have, so we have to try to be flexible. I’m not a one-dimensional coach and I’m not obsessed with playing one way. I’ve got to adapt, especially with where I am when I don’t get the players that I want.

“We’ve got to find the way. We’ve got to try to be flexible. Yes, I’d like to dominate the ball but there are so many facets of the game that you just have to respect.”

Highlands Park takes on Jomo Cosmos on Saturday, away from home.

FIXTURES

Saturday, 19 October

East Rand Athletic Club vs Joburg City
Kaizer Chiefs vs Wits Junior
Kathorus Hyper Academy vs TUKS
Mamelodi Sundowns vs TS Galaxy
NWU Vaal vs SuperSport United
Panorama FC vs Sevens Academy
Randburg AFC vs School of Excellence
Remember Elite Sport Academy FC vs Rosina Modiba Sports School

Sunday, 20 October 
NWU Vaal vs Kaizer Chiefs
East Rand Athletic Club vs TUKS
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Randburg AFC
Remember Elite Sport Academy FC vs School of Excellence
Rosina Modiba Sports School vs Kathorus Hyper Academy

The IberCup, a major international youth football tournament, will be held in Johannesburg from 12-16 December, showcasing South African talent to international clubs and opening up new opportunities for South African footballers.

SuperSport Schools Plus recently chatted with Michael Bender, the CEO of IberCup South Africa, to gain insight into the tournament, which features both boys’ and girls’ categories.

Bender, who is also the CEO of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona SA in Johannesburg, explained that the IberCup is a worldwide initiative. This time it will provide a grand opportunity for South African talent to play against European and South American teams.

“We stage the  IberCup in Brazil, in Spain, in Barcelona, in China, in Australia, and it’s taken almost five years to bring it to South Africa,” he said. “Why? Covid didn’t help. But in 2018 we signed an agreement with IberCup International to bring IberCup to South Africa. We felt it was important that our South African talent was given an opportunity against European teams.”

Bender believes South Africans will be able to assess their level and measure their progress against European or Brazilian football. “We always talk about how good we are, but this tournament gives us an opportunity to see how good we are against some of the best academies in the world.”

Bringing the IberCup to South Africa will help cut costs, Bender said. Travelling is too expensive, he explained, working out at around R52 000 per player for trips to Europe. “Now imagine taking an entire squad of 21 players.”

To cut costs while enabling young South Africans to compete on par with European and South American teams, Bender said a deal was signed with the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation in 2019 to bring the IberCup to South Africa. He said Gauteng officials assured him that the endeavour would be supported.

Bender said the IberCup creates unique opportunities for South Africans, who will face teams with internationally recognised names and fans bases in South Africa’s youth division. “Can you imagine one of our boys from a township playing against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Benfica? Is it impossible? Well guess what, it’s going to happen and we are about to make the dreams of young South Africans come true.

“Some of the biggest European and South American franchises will be playing against our boys. Barcelona, Benfica, Palmeiras, River Plate, Manchester City, Newcastle… We are working to bring them for a unique youth football experience in South Africa.”

Bender said local clubs have already shown their interest, with a number having already confirmed their participation in the forthcoming IberCup, including Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu, Randburg AFC, and Bloemfontein City. 

Interest has also been shown by other African nations, including teams from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.

“It’s a milestone and this has the potential to change the fabric and face of soccer in the youth category forever in South Africa because, if they come here once, it’s going to open up the channel and the gateway for international teams to keep coming here, not just for this tournament, but regularly,” Bender enthused.

Local teams and schools will also benefit from interacting with other coaches, top administrators, and players from different countries, Bender said.

“People need to understand this is the opportunity for every coach, for every school, teacher, for every club, every player, to look at what systems they’re employing to improve the player, not just with talent, but psychologically, conditionally and technically. We sometimes forget that these are the most important aspects of development.”

Adding further value to the initiative, Bender said IberCup South Africa will launch a club database with an app for global community interaction at the IberCup to empower local coaches with long-term tools.

“I’m going to give you an exclusive that nobody’s got yet,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “Based on the fact that we have so many clubs registering with us, we have realised we have a service to give these clubs. We’re creating a database, and we are hoping that after the IberCup, obviously, in January next year, every club on our database will be given a link to an app.

“They will be able to get and transfer information and be part of a global South African community where they can ask questions.

“We decided this only a couple of days ago, but this is, to me, the biggest and most important thing. We will have our tournament every year for the next five years. We will make sure we bring international teams, but we want our local coaches to start saying, ‘Wow, I have something more. When I leave the IberCup, I leave it with an app on my phone that I can use in the future’.”

Westville Boys’ High, who sparkled at the recent Westvaal North-South T20 in Pretoria, winning five of their six matches against elite opposition, have had four players named in the Dolphins’ squad to contest the annual Khaya Majola Week in Cape Town, from 16-20 December.

Westville skipper Nicandro Kistna, who is joined by his schoolmates, Roxton Payne, Max Robertson, and Kaedan McAllister, in the squad, is one of a number of captains in the Dolphins’ lineup, so leadership will not be in short supply.

Kistna, an opening batsman, and Payne, a left-arm spin bowler, both offer all-round options, while Robertson and McAllister are hard-hitting batsmen.

Glenwood captain Ntando Soni and Bandile Mbatha are back in the Dolphins’ squad for a second year in succession.

Soni enjoyed a spectacular Khaya Majola Week in 2023. He bagged plenty of wickets cheaply and was subsequently selected for the SA Schools side. Then, in the match between SA Schools and the SA Schools A side, he captured a five-for.

Recently, he was named the Player of the Series in the five-match limited-overs series between the SA Emerging u19 side and Zimbabwe.

Bayanda Majola, from DHS, another young SA u19 fast bowler, who can truly crank it up, and his school captain Semal Pillay, cracked the nod, too. School’s cricket has been on a strong run in 2024 and they’re two of the players that have headlined those successes.

Another returning player, and another captain, is Ross Coetzee. The Kearsney College skipper has been on a tear all year long, raking in the runs, and he recently celebrated his 100^th cap for the 1^st XI with a century in a winning run chase against Hilton College.

Cameron Veenstra, who also scored a ton in that win, is the most notable omission. But Veenstra withdrew from selection because he had signed a contract with The Sharks.

Paceman Sandiswa Yeni, a regular wicket-taker, gives Kearsney a second player in the squad.

Northwood also provides two players, including SA u19 fast bowling all-rounder Nqobani Mokoena. The Dolphins side is not going to be short of pace options! The Knights’ Mfanafuthi Shange, a top-order batsman, joins Mokoena in the provincial team.

Clifton College captain and all-rounder, Shahzaad Perumal, a left-hander, provides the team with nice balance and offers a solid bat, as well as an accurate left-arm spin option.

It’s a good-looking lineup, filled with multi-skilled players who have enjoyed strong years, and they’ll be guided by an impressive coaching and management team.

Sam Mofokeng, from the Dolphins School of Excellence, is the Head Coach of the side and will be assisted by a highly accomplished trio of Westville staff: Assistant Coach Christo Esau, who is one of a rare number of CSA level four coaches, Assistant Coach Richard Wissing, and Manager Thomas Jackson.

DOLPHINS SQUAD

Bandile Mbatha (Glenwood), Ross Coetzee (Kearsney), Nicandro Kistna (Westville), Nqobani Mokoena (Northwood), Ntando Soni (Glenwood), Bayanda Majola (DHS), Semal Pillay (DHS), Roxton Payne (Westville), Max Robertson (Westville), Mfanafuthi Shange (Northwood), Shahzaad Perumal (Clifton), Sandiswa Yeni (Kearsney), Kaeden McAllister (Kearsney)

Head coach: Sam Mofokeng
Assistant coach: Christo Esau
Assistant coach: Richard Wissing
Manager: Thomas Jackson

The Titans will take a strong and experienced side down south, intent on dethroning the Lions as the champions of the Khaya Majola Week, which takes place in Cape Town from 16-20 December.

Follow all the action live on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com) and channel 216.

The side from the north of Gauteng heads to the Mother City’s southern suburbs with four players who participated in the event last year.

Marcus Bakker, from Hoërskool Waterkloof, is one of those returning players and is joined in the Titans’ lineup by his schoolmate, the dangerous opening batsman, Wian Ruthven.

Bakker’s all-round abilities, especially his left-arm off-breaks, will play a key role in the Titans’ challenge.

Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool‘s Jorich van Schalkwyk is one of the other three returnees. He made the South African Schools’ side in 2023 and, after a prolific season, he’ll be a strong candidate to earn selection for the national side again.

Van Schalkwyk and Bakker turned out for the victorious Northern Champions at the Cubs Week in January and will also be eager for an opportunity to defend the franchise title. Joining Van Schalkwyk at the Khaya Majola Week will be his captain at Affies, Divan de Villiers.

Lethabo Phahlamohloka, the Cornwall Hill College captain, will be playing in a second Khaya Majola Week, while his Cornwall colleague, Mohammed Rasool, also cracked the nod from the selectors, giving the side from Centurion two representatives.

Prestige College, who recently scored 388 without losing a wicket in a Schools SA20 match, also provides two players, with Lethabo Kunene and Ditebogo Chauke included in the 13-player lineup.

It comes as no surprise that the only representatives from Die Hoërskool Menlopark and Hoërskool Centurion are the destructive duo of Steve Stolk and Charl Prinsloo.

Stolk brings a wealth of experience to the Titans’ team. He played in last year’s Khaya Majola Week and represented South Africa in the u19 Cricket World Cup in January. Prinsloo has, meanwhile, been piling on the runs and is closing in on 1 500 for the calendar year.

Hoërskool Garsfontein‘s Nayleo Sanna will be one of the spearheads of the Titans’ attack after graduating from the u17 Regional week in 2023.

Tshepang Laka, from the Atteridgeville Hub, and the Laudium Hub‘s talented Mohammed Borabat, complete a strong, versatile, and talented squad.

The talented left-handed opening batsman Lhuan-dré Pretorius wasn’t available for selection, seemingly because of his duties for the senior franchise side in the CSA Four-Day Series, which will be on the go during the week in Cape Town.

TITANS SQUAD

Marcus Bakker (Waterkloof), Tshepang Laka (Atteridgeville Hub), Jorich van Schalkwyk (Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool), Lethabo Phahlamohloka (Cornwall Hill College), Wian Ruthven (Waterkloof), Mohammed Rasool (Cornwall Hill College), Steve Stolk (Menlopark), Divan de Villiers (Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool), Charl Prinsloo (Hoërskool Centurion), Mohammed Borabat (Laudium Hub), Lethabo Kunene (Prestige College), Nayleo Sanna (Garsfontein), Ditebogo Chauke (Prestige College).

Management:
Head Coach – Thabang Khumalo
Assistant Coach – Elmar Dorey
Manager: Thabiso Makwela

Lions’ powerhouses, St Stithians and St John’s College are braced for what promises to be an epic showdown in the quarterfinals of the region’s Schools SA tournament at Wits University’s A ground on Friday afternoon.

St John’s will go into the contest keen to avenge a defeat in their last meeting with St Stithians, who pulled off a last-ball two-wicket victory in a nail-biting thriller to claim the bragging rights.

“The boys are motivated and eager to go. But we are much more focussed on our processes based on player development and team progression in terms of skill standards in all three disciplines,” Bongani Ntini, the St John’s coach, told SuperSport Schools Plus.

St John’s heads into the tie buoyed by a resounding eight-wicket victory over St Alban’s College in which Ntini’s outfit needed only 30.2 overs to chase down their opposition’s 192-run total.

Alec Loveland scored an outstanding and unbeaten 113 off 95 deliveries and was well-supported by Nkosana Sibiya, who chipped in with a 52-ball 53.

Earlier in the contest, Loveland bagged a brace of wickets, which helped restrict St Alban’s to a middling score. The 17-year-old has been an exceptional captain for the side, leading from the front both bat and ball.

St John’s has been performing well in multiple formats. They began their defence of the Johnny Waite title, which they won last year, with a series of wins, mostly recently by 55 runs over Northcliff High. In that tie, Darshik Lutchman and Sibiya scored brilliant half-centuries, which lifted their team to 184, before Ethan Robinson, with three wickets, helped St John’s restrict Northcliff to 129/7 in their 20 overs.

“We have played a few Johnny Waite fixtures, which we have used to pilot a few game plays and strategies in a pressured environment,” Ntini explained.

Their opposition plans to give as much as they get and more. Coach Lazarus Mokoena’s men are back from a Westvaal North-South T20 Tournament that produced mixed results. His charges were battle-tested by some of the country’s best batsmen and bowlers and gave as much as they received. They narrowly lost their last encounter of the tournament to Westville in a contest that was decided by the final delivery of the match.

Before that loss, they had demonstrated outstanding resilience by recovering from a morale-killing 113-run loss to Affies to smash 259/3 on their way to a comprehensive 130-run win over HS Centurion.

“The North-South tournament gave us the light as we played against good schools from around the country, and it was, definitely, good preparation for the Schools SA20 fixtures,” Mokoena said.

St Stithians hit the ground running after the North-South tournament and trounced St David’s Marist Inanda by nine wickets in their Johnny Waite encounter on Wednesday evening. Liam Mudenda led the way, cruising to an unbeaten 81 off 45 as his side chased down 162 runs for victory. Showcasing the lessons they had learned over the past week, St Stithians scorched to 163/1 in 14.2 overs.

The platform for the Saints’ victory had been set up by a disciplined bowling performance, led by Tahseen Hanslo, which held St David’s to 161/5 in 20 overs.

“Playing more games gives us good momentum [heading] into every game and we learn on the go,” Mokoena said.

The mouthwatering showdown between the powerhouses kicks off at 14:30.

Grace College visited the St Charles Oval on Tuesday to face Saints in the Schools SA20 competition. It proved to be a tough outing for the Hilton school, who were well beaten in a one-sided contest, which lasted just over 17 overs.

After winning the toss, the home side sent Grace out to bat, and six ducks were testament to the dominance of the St Charles College bowlers. It began with the dismissal of Grace’s dangerman, Wian Oelofsen, to the fifth ball of the innings, bowled by SA u19 Emerging speedster Rowen Rajah.

A 25-run partnership for the second wicket proved to be the prelude to a massive collapse as Grace lost their last nine wickets for the addition of only 19 runs.

Owen Widdows tore through the Grace middle order, capturing 4/17 in four overs, while Matthew Thiselton sent down three overs, struck three times, and conceded only three runs.

After 12.3 overs, Grace College was bowled out for 44. That was never going to challenge St Charles.

Credit to Grace, they picked up a couple of wickets, but Saints cantered across the line after only 5.1 overs, having reached 45/2. Christiaan Prinsloo was the highest scorer in the match, finishing on 22 not out.

Maritzburg College kept a tight rein on the Imbali Hub when they bowled first in their Schools SA20 match. The Hub XI almost saw out their 20 overs, but were dismissed two balls before the end for 77.

College’s bowlers shared the wickets around. Seven were employed and all seven claimed at least one victim, led by Dominic Du Toit, who knocked over 3/7 in two, and Nathan Pembridge, who claimed 2/12 in four.

The Red, Black, and White made light work of their victory target, rocketing to 80/1 after only 5.4 overs to record a convincing nine-wicket win.

Opener Daniel Nadasan made 20 not out off 14 balls, and Tian van Niekerk cracked 26 off 13, with four fours and a six. But it was Luka Puddu who provided the fireworks, exploding for an unbeaten 29 from just seven deliveries, which included three sixes and two fours.

Michaelhouse faced the Sweetwaters Hub and enjoyed their home-ground advantage when they batted first. Henry Love and Hayden Hewlett scored centuries, judging it perfectly so that they both could reach triple figures.

Love finished with an unbeaten 103, scored off of 61 balls, with eight fours and five sixes, while Hewlett ended on 100 not out. He had faced 60 deliveries and sent a quarter of them to the boundary, with 12 bringing him fours and three delivering sixes.

After 20 overs, ‘House had finished on 219 without loss.

The Sweetwaters Hub offered some resistance, losing only five wickets in their innings, but they were unable to make even half of the runs that Michaelhouse had scored.

Jean-Luc Rey kept Sweetwaters quiet with a haul of 2/10 from his four overs, while it was a workmanlike performance from the rest of the host’s attack as Sweetwaters totalled 102/5.

Summarised scorecards

Grace College 44/10 (Owen Widdows 4/17, Matthew Thiselton 3/3); St Charles College 45/2 (Christiaan Prinsloo 22*). St Charles College won by 8 wickets.

Imbali Hub 77/10 (S. Gumede 18, Dominic du Toit 3/7, Nathan Pembridge 2/12); Maritzburg College 80/1 (Luka Puddu 29*, Tian van Niekerk 26, Daniel Nadasan 20*). Maritzburg College won by 9 wickets.

Michaelhouse 219/0 (Henry Love 103*, Hayden Hewlett 100*); Sweetwaters Hub 102/5 (Jean-Luc Rey 2/10). Michaelhouse won by 117 runs.

In a bid to rejuvenate the Lentegeur Sports Field, the highly anticipated u18 Mitchells Plain Youth Cup (MPYC) Soccer Tournament was held in Mitchells Plain over the weekend.

The local community gathered to celebrate the essence of the beautiful game as u18 boys’ teams from across Cape Town competed for the title.

The final was a tight contest, won by Rockafellas, who beat Milano United 1-0 to secure the silverware.

In addition to the trophy, Rockafellas received R15 000 and an MTN gift bag. Milano United, the runners-up, received R5 000 in recognition of their commendable display of sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Rockafellas demonstrated their championship potential when they took on the home team, Lentegeur in the quarterfinals, winning 2-0 to advance to the final four. In another challenging game, they edged out Bayview by a goal to nil to reach the championship game.

Milano United took out Bayhill United in the quarterfinals, winning 3-1. In the semi-finals, they scored a 2-1 win over Westridge.

The Plate final was between Stanturf AFC and Ikapa Sporting FC, with Stanturf scoring the game’s lone goal to lift the Plate. They also received R2 000, while Ikapa Sporting FC was presented with R 1 000.

After the final match ended, the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, who had shown strong support for the tournament, presented the Player of the Tournament, Tabiso Mzalisi, with a pair of Air Jordan sneakers.

The Tournament Director, Councillor Avron Plaatjies, thanked the sponsors and donors for their contributions and for making the tournament a success.

“Liberty Promenade, MTN, Watergate Mall, SAFA Cape Town, Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages, Winelands, Albany, Comtel, Western Cape Government, the City of Cape Town, Tyger Burger, and others. Your support is invaluable to the youth of Mitchells Plain”, he said.

“Thank you again to everyone who played a part in making the Mitchells Plain Youth Cup a success. We can’t wait to see you all next year.”

Plate Quarterfinals 

Stanturf 1-0 FC Tafelzucht
Kenpark 6-3 New Forester
Strandfontein (4) 1-1 (2) Red Rovers
Ikapa Sporting 1-0 Barcelona

Winners Quarterfinals

Westridge (5) 2-2 (4) Beacon Spurs
Milano United 3-1 Bayhill United
Rockafellas 2-0 Lentegeur
Bayview 2-1 Beacon City

Plate Semifinals

Stanturf 2-1 Kenpark
Ikapa Sporting 1-0 Strandfontein

Winners Semifinals

Milano United 2-1 Westridge
Rockafellas 1-0 Bayview

Plate final

Stanturf 1-0 Ikapa Sporting

Winners Final

Rockafellas 1-0 Milano United